Sublative RF fractional skin resurfacing is usually only associated with the face. You may be surprised to know that cosmetic surgeon Dr. Terry Perkins often recommends skin resurfacing for the décolletage (the chest area) too. The chest tends to develop wrinkles and sunspots, sometimes even more severely than the facial area.

We have been programmed to religiously use sunscreen on our faces, rain or shine, summer or winter. As a result, many of us have wrinkle-free, creamy-skinned faces, but pair that with a chest full of hyperpigmentation (sun spots) and vertical wrinkles (wrinkles that go up and down, especially in the middle of the chest), and your age is out there for all to see!

Before we get into how to treat vertical wrinkles and sunspots on the décolletage, we have to put a word in about preventing the chest area from aging. Treat the chest as part of the facial area and apply sunblock daily to both areas.

A sunblock popular amongst Evolutions clients is TIZO3, SPF 40. TIZO is made up of Titanium, Iron, and Zinc Oxides that offers a sheer protection with a silky, matte finish. It is a sunblock and is formulated without chemical sunscreen filters and is free of paraben, oil, PABA and fragrance. TIZO3 is available in Santa Barbara at Evolutions Medical Spa.

If you already have visible sun damage in the chest area, you can treat it with the newest fractional skin resurfacing device – the Sublative RF – that is available exclusively at Evolutions. This latest skin resurfacing technology replaces the Matrix RF and is 30% more powerful and a more comfortable treatment to undergo and can be done without topical numbing cream!

The Sublative RF treats a range of skin conditions and skin types, can be used on the face or body, and treats:

wrinkles

acne scars / pitting

superficial skin lesions

scars

textural irregularities

pigmentation

skin laxity

Typically your skin can be renewed in about 3 to 4 treatments, each 4 to 6 weeks apart with minimal downtime and noticeable improvement!

Have you heard of the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo? Gretchen Rossi made headlines last season as the new “housewife” who was really a girlfriend and care-taker to a much older, and richer, man dying of leukemia. If you watched the show, you’d know that Gretchen, when not taking care of her boyfriend, was very much interested in taking care of herself. She was always put-together and well-groomed, exercising regularly and never leaving the house without a hair out of place. Gretchen has extended her interest in beauty into *real life* launching The Gretchen Project, where she travels the globe in “search of everlasting beauty” and shares her information through interviews with experts in the fields of beauty and cosmetic treatments.

In episode 3, Gretchen talks with Dr. Roy Geronemus about “Tips on Choosing Beauty Products & the Science Behind Current and New Beauty Treatments”. At one point in the video, Gretchen asks Dr. Geronemus about facial scar (and acne scar) treatment, transcription as follows:

Gretchen: I have acne scars from when I was a teenager. Is there
something I can do for them?

Dr. Geronemus: Yes, treating acne scars is one of our most popular procedures. We’re doing a lot of procedures including Sublative Rejuvenation and Fractional Resurfacing.

Gretchen: I’ve heard about Fractional Resurfacing. Tell me a little more about that procedure.

Dr. Geronemus: There are a number of devices from non-invasive to more invasive. Non-invasive do not remove the skin, but they do create collagen over time that plumps up acne scars so they’re smoother. That takes multiple treatments. For deep scars, the more aggressive Fractional Resurfacing actually wounds the skin. It can work well, but there is some downtime where you’re sitting home for a week or so. In between is Sublative Rejuvenation, where you’re able to treat the skin without any injury. It’s particularly good for dark skin types.

It is exciting that both Dr. Geronemus and Gretchen spoke about “Fractional Resurfacing” as something that can be done to smooth over facial/acne scars. Many people think that microdermabrasion is the answer to smoothing and correcting facial skin when, in fact, there are many other options that may be less invasive with better results such as the Matrix RF which is the newest fractional resurfacing device and is only available in the Tri-Counties at Santa Barbara’s Evolutions Medical Spa.

The Matrix RF will restore your skin’s beauty – treating mild to moderate wrinkles, red and brown spots, and textural irregularities. Read more about the Matrix and how it can work for you in a past blog post of ours.

Skin resurfacing and rejuvenating can be accomplished a few different ways using laser and light-based technologies. Traditional resurfacing ablates (removes) skin surface. The results are great, but healing time can take up to a week or more. Non-ablative rejuvenation such as FotoFacial RF protects the skin surface (does not ablate) and still targets areas of pigmentation and redness to get results with no downtime. While the results are great, they are not able to match the results of ablative technology. The newest treatments available are fractional resurfacing. Fractional resurfacing removes a small portion of the skin surface (usually 5% – 10%) and protects the rest. This gives many of the benefits of traditional resurfacing with very little downtime, so it is a great option for many clients.

The Matrix RF fractional technology reaches deeper into the skin, but covers the area in patterns of dots instead of a broader area. The matrix spots are surrounded by non-affected tissue which helps in accelerating the healing process. This results in a treatment with more effective color and texture improvement – and significantly less recovery time than traditional resurfacing.

Matrix RF can be used to treat wrinkles, acne scar revision, superficial skin lesions, scar revision, textural irregularities, pigmentation and skin laxity. Past procedures were not as successful on darker pigmented people and this is not the case for the Matrix RF. See a video from NBC’s show, “The Doctors”, featuring the Matrix addressing darker skin types.